GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Messiah Women's Volleyball team began the Messiah Invitational on Friday night against No. 8 Carnegie Mellon University, with the Falcons dropping a five-set clinic to the Tartans, 3-2 (18-25, 25-18, 25-21, 19-25, 4-15). The Tartans pulled away late to take a closely contested first set, but the Falcons controlled the second set to tie the match. The Falcons used a late surge to win the third set, but the Tartans found their rhythm in the final two sets to win the match, 3-2.
Makenzie Adams led the Falcons with 12 kills and 21 digs.
Clara Conner tallied 31 assists and 15 digs.
Claire Marzolino added 19 digs.
Up next, the Falcons are back in action tomorrow for day two of the Messiah Invitational. The Falcons play Franciscan University at 10:30 a.m. before finishing the day against Gettysburg College at 6:00 p.m.
Set One
The Tartans started hot, taking a quick 5-2 lead.
Leah Youtzy then got the Falcons some momentum with three kills, with
Hannah MacCartney tacking on a kill to tie the set 7-7. Over the following stretch of points, MacCartney added three more kills, while
Sydney Wolfe added two kills.
Kayla Batty then tallied a kill to give Messiah their first lead of the set, 13-12. However, the Tartans controlled the rest of the set, outscoring the Falcons 13-5 to take the set 25-18.
Set Two
Early kills from
Makenzie Adams,
Kayla Batty, and
Sydney Wolfe gave the Falcons a 4-2 lead. Wolfe added another kills and Adams tallied three more as the teams traded points to a 9-8 Falcons lead. The Falcons began to pull away, winning four of the next five points, with
Hannah MacCartney picking up two kills and
Clara Conner dropping in a service ace. The Tartans got some momentum back, but the Falcons continued firing on offense, with
Makenzie Adams dropping in two aces and
Sydney Wolfe picking up a kill as Messiah still led, 17-13. Wolfe combined with
Leah Youtzy for a block and Youtzy tacked on a kill, with the Falcons closing in on the set, up 22-17. Kills from
Clara Conner and
Makenzie Adams helped to see out the set for Messiah, who took it 25-18.
Set Three
Carnegie Mellon started the set on a four-point run to take a quick lead.
Hannah MacCartney and
Makenzie Adams then combined for a block, and
Sydney Wolfe and
Kayla Batty each added kills as the Falcons won six of the next eight points to tie the set, 6-6. The Tartans then went on a string of errors and
Leah Youtzy dropped in a service ace as the Falcons took the lead, 11-9. The Tartans then responded with a five-point swing to retake the lead, 14-11.
Hannah MacCartney and
Makenzie Adams each added kills quickly, but Carnegie Mellon still led, 17-15. However, the Falcons used a four-point run to take a lead that they would maintain the remainder of the set. During the run,
Claire Marzolino dropped in two aces and
Makenzie Adams added another kill. The Falcons then won five of the final seven points to win the set, 25-21, with
Leah Youtzy,
Makenzie Adams, and
Kayla Batty all tallying kills, while Batty also added two service aces.
Set Four
Makenzie Adams added an early kill, but the Tartans took a 5-1 lead early. The Falcons responded well with a four-point run to tie the set at five, with
Leah Youtzy and
Sydney Wolfe both tallying kills. The teams then began trading points, with Youtzy adding two service aces for Messiah as the sides battled to an 11-11 tie. Next,
Hannah MacCartney picked up a kill and joined forces with
Makenzie Adams for a block as the set remained tied, 14-14. However, the Tartans then began to pull away, winning six of the next eight points to take a 20-16 lead late in the set.
Makenzie Adams and
Clara Conner each added kills in the final stages of the set, but the Tartans closed it out quickly, winning 25-19 to force a fifth set.
Set Five
Makenzie Adams and
Kayla Batty each added early kills, with the teams tied 2-2. However, the Tartans then won the next nine points to take over the set, leading 11-2.
Leah Youtzy stopped the run with a solo block, but Carnegie Mellon won four of the final five points to take the set, 15-4, and the match, 3-2.
Stats
Makenzie Adams led the Falcons with 12 kills and 21 digs.
Clara Conner tallied 31 assists and 15 digs.
Claire Marzolino added 20 digs.
Hannah MacCartney tacked on eight kills with two blocks, while
Sydney Wolfe added nine kills
Leah Youtzy and
Kayla Batty each had six kills and
Erin Eby picked up 11 digs.
Up Next
The Falcons are back in action tomorrow for day two of the Messiah Invitational. The Falcons play Franciscan University at 10:30 a.m. before finishing the day against Gettysburg College at 6:00 p.m.
